Chapter 24
I stood there, frozen in the doorway, the shopping bags still dangling from my fingers.
Karl didn’t move.
He sat back, shirtless, completely unfazed. The woman on his lap didn’t even glance at me, just kept smiling, her hand curled around the back of his neck. His palm rested lazily on her thigh like it was the most natural thing in the world.
His eyes shifted to me, cold and distant.
Do you have something to say?”
My stomach dropped..
The words sliced through the silence with such indifference, it caught me completely off guard. I blinked, still trying to understand if this was real I had expected him to look startled, maybe even guilty. But instead, he just looked bored.
I didn’t even know why I had expected anything else.
I swallowed, straightened my shoulders, and forced my voice not to shake.
“Seems I came at the wrong time,” I said, my tone light, casual, like none of this mattered. Like I wasn’t seconds from crumbling.
He said nothing.
I stepped back, closing the door behind me as quietly as I could. My fingers trembled slightly as I tightened them around the bags.
Each step down the hallway felt heavier than the last. The further I got from his door, the more I could breathe again. But my chest still felt tight, like something had been yanked loose inside me and I couldn’t fix it.
I made it back to my room, shut the door, and dropped the bags on the edge of the bed
Why dad I feel like this!
It wasn’t like we e were actually together. It wasn’t real. None of it. I knew that. We’d signed a contract. He could do whatever the hell he wanted. So why did my throat burn like I’d just been punched in it?
Of course it was
it was just
because it felt wrong it was breaching the contract too yes that’s why I felt this way
I sat on the bed, fingers curled into the sheets, jaw clenched.
My breath came out in a sharp buff, chest rising fast as I started pacing back had forth across the carpet. My fingers gripped the ends of my hair, pulling it up off my neck as if that would cool the heat bubbling under my skin.
“He’s the one always preaching about paparazzi,” 1 muttered, shaking my head hard, how people are watching, how I have to be careful but he’s there, with lier, like none of it matters?
My steps were fast, almost restless. I walked from the bed to the window and back, arms folded tight across my chest. I tumed again, fingers pörssing against my temples now, trying to make sense of why I even cared. My heels clicked faintly on the floor as I spun again,
“Tant that a breach of the contract I scoffed under my breath, eyes narrowing. “Or is that rule only for me?”
I stopped by the mirror and caught my reflection. My cheeks were flushed, jaw tight, brows furrowed. I didn’t even look like myself. My lips pressed together as I looked away, pacing again.
“He didn’t even lunch. Not a shred of guilt. Just looked at me like I check, trying to keep myself from yelling. “like I was a nuisance.”
e I was the one interrupting something private. And that tone,” I bit the inside of
Dropping onto the edge of the bed. I stared at the pile of boutique bags sitting on the floor. Everything I had picked out. Everything I wanted to show him Gone just like that All die excitement i ich earlier had vatushed so fast it almost felt ridiculous
My bigers curled around the condorter squeezing the fabric as I sat there. My mind replayed the moment again, and again the way he didn’t even move, the way that woman clung to him like she belonged there. Like I
“I don’t know what I expected” I said softly, dragging a hand down my face.
1/2
3.03 PM
Chapter 24
I stopped pacing and threw my hands in the air. “Wait, why am I even stressing over this?”
Seriously, what was I doing?
He was the one with a half–naked girl on his lap. Not me.
He was the one always preaching about reputation and image and contracts–yet he couldn’t even follow his own rules. And here I crying over it
Nope. Not t
tonight.
was almost
a point. Short black dress. Low neckline. My hair still
I walked straight to the closet, pulled out the first thing that made me feel hot enough to make a pe looked good, so 1 thuffed it once in the mirror and slipped on my heels.
If he wanted to set like I didn’t matter, I’d remind myself that I didn’t need him to
I grabbed my purse and headed downstairs, trying not to overthink it Club. Music. Drinks. That was the vibe. I was going to enjoy myself, with or without his approval.
I was halfway to the door when Kent appeared out of nowhere like he’d been waiting for me to try something,
“Miss Ellen,” he said, stepping in front of the door, “where are you going?”
gave him a look. “I’m leaving”
He didn’t move. At least let me inform Mr. Lever first”
I let out a dry laugh. “Your boss is a little busy right now, remember? Last I checked, he had company. I think he can manage without me for a few hours.
Kent didn’t budge. His face gave nothing away, but his tone was stiff. “It’s for your safety.
“I’m going to a club, not a war zone.” I sidestepped him. “If he has a problem with it, he knows where to find me.
And with that. I pushed the door open and stepped out. Let the cold billionaire worry about his own actions for once, I was done babysitting his
